Seal Beach shooting: Insurers sue suspect

SANTA ANA – Seeking to avoid liability, two insurance companies have filed lawsuits against a man charged with killing eight people at a Seal Beach beauty salon, as well as the families of some of the victims.

Scott Evans Dekraai, 42, of Huntington Beach faces a possible death sentence if convicted of the special circumstances of multiple counts of murder in the 2011 mass shooting at Salon Meritage. His trial is set for March 25.

Family members of four of the people killed, including the parents of Dekraai's ex-wife, Michelle Fournier, have pending civil wrongful death lawsuits against Dekraai in Orange County Superior Court.

Hairstylist Lisa Powers, who was not shot, has sued Dekraai seeking damages stemming from witnessing the shootings at the salon where she worked, according to court documents.

The insurers – Safeco Insurance Company of America in federal court and the Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club in Superior Court – are essentially seeking the same thing: a court declaration relieving them of any obligation to defend or indemnify Dekraai in the five civil lawsuits.

At the time of the 2011 mass killings, Dekraai had two landlord protection policies with Safeco for rental properties in Lakewood and a homeowner's policy for his Huntington Beach home with the Interinsurance Exchange.

The companies assert in court documents that their policies do not cover any liability of Dekraai's in the civil lawsuits, in part because intentional acts by an insured are excluded.

"Safeco contends that the claims asserted in the lawsuits are not covered, or even potentially covered, under the policies," the company's lawsuit says.

Lawsuits by insurance carriers seeking what's called "declaratory relief" are relatively common because the companies have broad obligations to defend and indemnify the insured. The liability portion of many homeowners' policies potentially also cover incidents away from home in which the insured is found to be negligent.

Attorney Ed Susolik, a partner in the law firm of Callahan & Blaine in Santa Ana who is representing two families in their civil lawsuits against Dekraai, says the "real end game" is the insurance companies could be held responsible for up to a total $200 million judgment, a payout of about $25 million for each of the eight victims.

"If they don't settle, they risk having to cover everything," he said. "In my opinion this is a risk they're not gonna take, but I want them to take that risk."

If the companies choose to settle, the Interinsurance Exchange would pay a total $500,000 and Safeco $600,000 for all victims, per policy limits, said Susolik, who plans to file a motion to stay the insurance carriers' cases until after the criminal and civil trials.

In 2007, Callahan & Blaine secured $50 million from Dana Point in a civil lawsuit settlement, the largest private injury case payout in Orange County history in the case of two San Clemente women who became quadriplegics after a hit-and-run accident on Coast Highway.

One scenario under which the insurance carriers could be found liable is if Dekraai is found to be legally insane by a jury, which would mean his actions could be viewed as unintentional.

"I know what I did," Dekraai told a Seal Beach policeman who arrested him a few blocks from the scene of the massacre, according to a search warrant affidavit. Dekraai confessed to the killings during an interview with detectives, including a statement that he opened fire on others after he shot his ex-wife as "collateral damage," according to the affidavit.

The Huntington Beach man told a detective shortly after his arrest that he sat on the sand at Bolsa Chica State Beach the morning of the Oct. 12 , 2011, bloodbath and pondered killing his ex-wife, according to court documents.

Witnesses told police Dekraai walked into the salon in the early afternoon and immediately shot stylist Fournier, 47, after arguing with her earlier on the telephone over child custody.

After shooting Fournier, witnesses said, Dekraai shot Christy Lynn Wilson, 47, Fournier's friend and colleague, and then salon owner Randy Fannin, 61, before shooting others at random. Victoria Ann Buzzo, 54; Lucia Bernice Kondas, 65; Laura Lee Webb Elody, 46; and Michele Fast, 47, were shot inside the salon. Victim Harriet Stretz, 73, was shot and wounded. The last to die was David Caouette, 64, who was shot while sitting in his vehicle in the parking lot outside the salon as the shooter left.